Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Factory

The FactorySomething I learned a long time ago is that adventures aren't always about nature. Nature has become one of the main things I focus on here on The Everyday Adventurer, but I will go anywhere I find something interesting. That's why my subject today will be a little different than usual.

The factory in these pictures is an interesting mystery to me. The mystery lies in the fact that I've never been inside it. I often tell other people that their job is interesting to me. They say that it's boring. It is boring to them because they know it well, but I see it as something completely new to me. Besides, I don't want to do their job, I just want to watch.

If you look closely at the factory smokestacks you'll see ladders and walkways all over them. There are also platforms where you can stand, on each one of them. Wouldn't it be an interesting experience to be able to stand on one of these platforms and look out at the town?

The platform on the middle tower looks especially cool to me. It has a roof on it, which gives it an extra special feature to explore. I think I could stand up there all day. Just think of the wind blowing around while you are standing high up there.

There are also enclosed walkways all over the factory. You can see them running along the outside of the building, almost as if they were an afterthought. It would be like walking through a tunnel if you were to be in there. Wouldn't it be fun to explore a long tunnel?

The FactoryThere is also something that seems very strange and out of place about these pictures, that creates a whole new mystery. If you look at the bottom of the photos you can see that there is a playground and a picnic area down there.

A factory can seem almost offensive to some nature lovers, but a nice little park isn't a bad thing at all. Both together seem like a strange combination, don't they? Why would they do this? Is there any rational reason for them both to be in this place? What do they have in common?

That is a mystery that I can solve for everyone right now. What they have in common is that the Detroit River is just to the right of these pictures. I won't show it today, but you can follow the link in the last sentence if you want to see it.

The river serves two purposes. For the factory, it enables easy transportation for the product they work with there. For the park, the river adds to the enjoyment for everyone who is there. What could be better than to have a nice picnic, and get to look out at a wide river while you're there?

On a side note, check out the new related posts widget I found. I'm testing it for now, but I like it so far. It seems to guess pretty well, and it's easier than what I was doing before. It also seems to change when you refresh the page. Let me know what you think about it.

14 comments:

  1. The widget is cool!

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  2. I like looking at factories too. You would be surprised at the wildlife you sometimes have at them. I often see skunks and other critters living underneath the factories and birds will use the eaves for roosting at night.

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  3. HaHa...Once get stucked inside the factory, the perception will be changed.
    Like the widget. Have installed on my site. Looks very cool. Thanks.

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  4. Wow, that squirrels post sure are popular. Maybe they should kidnap you more (if they can get their mind of their nuts). You have the eye of a child...always optimistic...

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  5. Montreal has an AMAZING amount of old factories. They are beautiful...though lots are now being converted into lofts and condos :(

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  6. I am sure the park is for employees to use that work in the factory. What better place to go and take a lunch break?
    I am sure you will find a way to go there and take closer photos? I can hear them yelling:
    SECURITY!!!!!
    PS thanks for the lead on the cool widget, I totally stole a twin and put it promptly on my blog!
    The Retirement Chronicles

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  7. This is one thing I really love about being an electrician we do a lot of commercial service work and i have got to see the inner workings of a lot of different places such as factories and such, I have done lots of work in malls the thing that has always amazed me is a maze of hallways behind all the stores that's where most of the electrical rooms are located. Most people would never know they even existed. another place we do a lot of work is an elderly care facility that has a tunnel that's about 500 feet long that goes beneath a street and comes out in another building on another block, it is the maintenance entrance.

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  8. Mother Goose - Thanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you like the new widget.
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    Kallen305 - That is an excellent point! I should have remembered this, especially after reading your recent post about seeing birds on the buildings. Now I have a new place to watch for animals. :)
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    Rainfield - The best thing to do inside the factory is trey to avoid the work. Watching other people work is sometimes fun though. I'm happy that you like the widget so much.
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    Kruel - I noticed the squirrels coming up a lot too. They might try to get revenge again, because I've still been stalking them.

    I have to keep the eye of a child when looking at something like a factory. That can make it seem like a castle instead.
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    Steph - We have a lot of old factories here in Detroit too. Lofts and condos are better than just leaving them abandoned or tearing them down. Ours just sit there and rot. It's a shame.
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    The Retired One - Actually, the factory is right on the edge of downtown Wyandotte. The town is a very friendly place to go for anything you could want. The park is much bigger than I show in the picture.

    I'm glad this widget is popular with everybody. So far,so good.
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    Sparky - That is exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about. All of those maze like tunnels and hidden passages can be fascinating. You never know what's going to be around the next corner. You get to do the things as you work that I was talking about. Excellent addition to the post.

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  9. I love climbing around on places like that factory, except one usually isn't allowed. How strange.... I was thinking of trying out that widget and seeing if I like what it picks. I was going to introduce it almost exactly like you did.

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  10. Sharkbytes - I've actually been able to climb around a few places like that. Sometimes I'm allowed to, and sometimes it's been an abandoned building. As for the widget, I guess great minds think alike. This way, you'll get to see if it works well without testing it yourself.

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  11. Factories are interesting from the outside but I'm not sure I would like to be working in one all day. I can't wait to read more about it and I loved your photos.

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  12. Mountain Woman - I agree with you. Working in a factory is not fun at all, but freely exploring the inside can be a great adventure. I've done both.

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  13. I don't find factories offensive, just odd and sobering. From my art school days, I remember discovering the orderly, calm colors and shapes of Charles Demuth's factory paintings done in his hometown of Lancaster, PA. But in 2000, I happened to find myself curiously revolutionized by a show entitled "1900: Art at the Crossroads" at the Guggenheim in NYC because I never considered the various traumas that swift industrialization put upon the gentler areas of society such as family life and nature. I was able to see it through artists of the time...and in the heart of NYC no less! Besides that, I did take a job one summer in a local machine parts factory...I lasted less than a month until I ran off with a friend to be a cocktail waitress at a resort in the Poconos! (Hmm...I do enjoy the way life so often connects the dots....that's what happens when you walk a lot...your mind gets to wander, too.)

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  14. Diane KQ - I think I've experienced every side and feeling you get from factories. Some city kids, including myself, have been in abandoned factories, and seen them as a new and undiscovered maze-like playground, though I don't recommend it to anyone else. After growing up, I've had to work in a few factories, and it's never very pleasant.Even then, I was able to explore the hidden rooms, and abandoned passages. Now, I choose to remember the fun I sometimes had, and I think of a big building like that as a fairy castle.

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